Tag: Bible
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Gavin and Evangelism
So I was sitting in front of Starbucks praying about what God wanted me to write when a middle-aged man stopped in front of me and stared. According to gut reaction and social etiquette, I closed my laptop and said hello. His name was Gavin, and it didn’t take long to realize that he had a mental disorder. His mother had dropped him off at the mall with the intention of picking him up at a later time, and I suppose he just wanted someone to talk to.
Leading up to this moment, God has been working on my heart for quite some time. He’s been giving me a burden about something I’m not proud of: not having a burden for souls. Call me unspiritual, but I’m calling a spade of spades and being honest. There are souls going to hell, and my heart barely skips a beat. I walk through the public and have a remnant of sadness because few know Christ, but is there a burden to break down in tears and weep because the God of the universe has made Himself known in the flesh and many don’t even realize the fact?
No.
The college I’m at runs ministry opportunities called “Christian Services” which are largely evangelistic. This semester is the first time that I have actually done Christian Service and gone out to evangelize, but the real question is this: when I’m not on Christian Service, not on the clock, not receiving collegian points, am I still reaching for souls? It all comes down to this question: do I truly know the heart of God?
No.
Because if I did know the heart of God, I would be moved to action. Why? Jesus was moved to action and He died. But here is where I want you, the reader, to connect. I want to know the heart of God. The heart of God comes down to one thing: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And if the heart of God revolves around Jesus Christ and Him crucified, what’s the one way to know the heart of God? Simple. Revolve everything in life around Jesus Christ and Him crucified. How does that happen? Day in and day out, it is meditating on who Jesus is and what He has done. It is praying without ceasing and striving to know Jesus Christ more than ever before. It is nothing less than picking up the cross and following Him in moment by moment situations.
Now, back to Gavin.
For whatever reason, it was a divine appointment. He knew who Jesus was and could agree with everything that I was saying about Him, but as I explained who Jesus was to me and what He has done in my life, I could see something turning in His soul, as though he had seen something that he had never seen before.
What’s this turning? Read through the history of those dead guys who carried the heart of God. They didn’t just speak about God. God spoke through them. Wherever they went, people saw God! Charles Spurgeon would walk into a town, and the very sight of him would convict people. John Hyde would come out of prayer with a state of soul that would bring people to tears within minutes. To tell the Gospel is only half the battle; the world is in desperate need of people who are living the Gospel.
I’m a Christian, and yet I’m not where I ought to be, but God answers prayer, and because God’s burdened me to pray about not having a burden, I can count on the fact that He is on His way to weighing down my soul with His heart!
Even then, to tell people the Gospel is sheer obedience, whether I feel like it or not. He commanded it.
It was just as much a conviction to type this as it probably was to read.
We need You, Jesus.
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Jesus Moves Most Under Attack
This past week has been an adventure.
Every day has been an uphill battle.
Every hour has been a challenge.
Every moment has held high stakes.I’m under attack.
The enemy has one strategy: distract at all cost!
When sight of Jesus Christ and Him crucified is lost,
Even if it is for one week, day, hour, or moment,
The enemy has free reign to wreak havoc galore!I’m under attack.
The enemy attacks the awakened.
The enemy attacks the visionary.
The enemy attacks the moving.
The enemy attacks the offensive.I’m under attack.
This week I was distracted many times.
This week I stumbled many times.
This week I failed many times.
This week I lost many battles.I’m under attack.
This week Jesus was more faithful than my unfaithfulness!
This week Jesus picked me up every single time I fell!
This week Jesus succeeded more than my failure!
This week Jesus won more battles than my losses!Jesus is moving.
This week was stock full of Jesus being Jesus!
This week was stock full of complete one-eighties!
This week was stock full of prayers being answered!
This week was stock full of epic victories!Jesus is moving.
This week Jesus proved omniscient!
This week Jesus proved omnipresent!
This week Jesus proved omnipotent!
This week Jesus proved victorious!Jesus is moving.
This week God taught me how to look to Him when I’m down.
No matter how much the enemy may attempt to destroy me,
Jesus Christ and Him crucified is the solid rock higher than I.
And though ten thousand encamp against me, I will not fear, because..Jesus is moving.
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Prayer That Stays
A man unknown steps through a door and falls to the ground.
He struggles up to his knees, and chokes out painful sound.
His eyes are shut and yet they’re not, he sees his Father’s throne.
His heart begins to beat with God’s, the rhythm’s not alone.All heaven stands on toes in wait to hear his humble prayer:
The prayer that never ceases till the altar’s lit a’flare.
He prays and prays with moans and tears; he weeps in silence still.
And yet in heaven’s realms there is a charge of anthem thrill.He surpassed “fun” and earthly games, he left his friends “good time”,
And yet in heaven’s saintly realms, he is one of a kind.
For elsewhere in the world there’s a sound of sporting cheer,
And yet the real hurrah in life is found nowhere but here.For though all men cheer on the ball and athlete big and strong,
The real applause is found on knees, praying hard and long.
No one cares about the man, who leaves to take up prayer,
And yet our Lord God above listens to his dare.He stays and stays as the time flies by; the angels’ roar grows loud.
Just as when Elijah looked and said, “I see a cloud!”
The Father’s will had found a flow, a channel through a heart:
A heart that knew the Father’s will needed a prayer’s start.And though this unknown man die such, another grave below,
It was by Him all heaven’s joy came down like winter snow.
So when you think of lengthy prayer, don’t think of monks who snore.
Think of heaven’s greatest knights who fight their Savior’s war.
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Encouragement From Iron to Iron
Once upon a time..
In the midst of a small school,
There were two young men:
A senior and an eighth grader.Each were on two completely different paths of life,
But when a work of God brought the two together,
It could truly be said that iron and iron
Came together to sharpen iron.However, I don’t believe that the young eighth grader
Will ever understand the impact that he had on the senior.
For more than being encouraged, he was an encouragement,
And he was willing to let God work in his life immensely.The years ahead are brighter than the eighth grader could ever imagine,
For it is a rare thing that God would work so much in someone so young.
And although the highschool has yet to realize this new ninth grader,
He will cause more spiritual havoc for God’s kingdom than many before him.So, —–, whether you ever read this or not, know that
It has been an honor and a privilege to grow with you.
You have drawn me closer to God, taught me many things,
And given me a legacy that I would not have left otherwise.As far as the prayer meeting, God will see to its survival,
For He has begun a work in our school, and He will finish it.
But above all else, whether He uses many or few,
One thing is undoubtedly certain:He will use you.
And that, my friend, is an encouragement.
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1st Corinthians 13:3-8b – A Reminder
Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never fails. – 1st Corinthians 13:3-8b
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Stephen J. Anderson – Turn My Crimson Into White
May this be the song of our hearts until His return.
Lyrics:
Oh Lord, make me whole,
Take me home, and free my soul.
Take my sins, give me rest,
In Thy fire, give me breath,
Oh Lord, make me whole.
Oh Lord, make me whole.Good Lord, remember me
When you come, to make us free.
When my wrongs be made right,
Turn my crimson into white.
Good Lord, remember me.
Good Lord, remember me.
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